Resistant starch is a type of carbohydrate found in a select few very specific foods. Although it has similar benefits to fiber, resistant starch is a type of carbohydrate that is quite resistant to digestion.[1] Unlike fiber, it's only found in a few foods - like slightly green bananas, potatoes and corn. However, it can help manage blood sugar, improve gut health, support a healthy weight or weight loss and reduces your risk of cancers like colon cancer.[2] Learn how to add resistant starch to your diet so you can enjoy these great benefits of this healthy carbohydrate.

Steps

Part 1

Including Foods with Resistant Starch

1

Eat slightly green bananas. One common food that has a decent amount of resistant starch is a banana. However, try to eat them when they are just about to be yellow for the highest amount of resistant starch.

Slightly underripe bananas have about 6 g of resistant starch per "small banana."[3] A small banana will be about 6-7" inches in length.

Look for underripe bananas at your local grocery store. These should be fairly easy to find as many stores will put out these slightly green bananas on shelves so they do not get too ripe, too quickly in store.

Use green banana in recipes and meals like: oatmeal or yogurt topped with sliced bananas, a whole banana dipped in peanut butter, a half of a banana dipped in dark chocolate, rolled in nuts and frozen, or just plain by itself. You can even make green banana pasta.[4]

2

Include potatoes and yams. Two other foods that contain a high amount of resistant starch are potatoes and yams. Both white potatoes, sweet potatoes or yams contain resistant starch.

Unlike bananas, the amount of resistant starch present in potatoes doesn't rely on the ripeness of the potato. For about 1/2 cup of potatoes or yams, you'll get about 4 g of resistant starch.[5]

Consider purchasing whole, raw potatoes and cooking them at home or purchasing plain, 100% sweet potatoes or yams that are canned without seasonings or additives.

Use potatoes in recipes and meals like: simply baked with a pat of butter, sliced and roasted with salt and pepper to make baked fries, cubed and tossed into a potato salad or pureed or mashed into mashed potatoes.

3

Choose whole grains like barley and brown rice. Whole grains have always been known to be high in fiber. Some, like barley and brown rice are also great sources of resistant starch.

Both barley and brown rice contain about 3 g of resistant starch per 1/2 cup.[6]

You can purchase barley or brown rice and cook from scratch or purchase the parboiled or microwaveable versions for quick and easy cooking.

Recipes you can prepare with these grains include: simply steamed with olive oil, salt and pepper, tossed into a salad, baked into casseroles or in tabbouleh.

4

Serve yourself some corn. This starchy vegetable is another source of resistant starch. Since it's available year-round, it's an easy vegetable to include on a regular basis.

For every 1/2 cup of corn, you'll get about 2 g of resistant starch. Although not as high as other foods, corn is an easy food to add to multiple recipes.[7]

If it's the season, fresh corn is a great option to increase your intake of resistant starch. If it's out of season, consider using frozen or even canned corn for an extra dose of resistant starch.

Use corn in recipes like: mixed into a homemade corn salsa, tossed into a Mexican taco salad, pureed into a creamy corn chowder, or served plain with a pat of butter.

5

Include beans and lentils. The food group that has the highest amount of resistant starch per serving are beans and lentils. Include these foods regularly to help increase your intake of resistant starch.

For every 1/2 cup of beans or lentils, you'll get a whopping 8 g of resistant starch.[8]

You can purchase canned, frozen or dried beans and lentils. All will contain resistant starch. Although some varieties of beans may have varying levels of resistant starch, on average they are all fairly high in resistant starch.

Include beans and lentils in dishes like: homemade hummus, serving black beans or refried beans alongside tacos, putting beans or lentils on top of a salad, preparing a homemade lentil soup or making homemade red beans and rice (use brown rice for extra resistant starch!).

6

Include foods fortified with resistant starch. There are some foods that are a little bit higher in resistant starch due an ingredient called Hi-Maize. You can also increase the amount of resistant starch in the foods you make from scratch by using Hi-Maize in place of flour.

A food called Hi-Maize which is a brand of corn starch is exceptionally high in resistant starch.[9]

If you're making baked goods like homemade bread or muffins you can swap out about one quarter of the flour for Hi-maize to help increase the total resistant starch amount.[10]

You can also look for breads, pastas, muffins or other baked goods that use corn starch or Hi-maize in their ingredients.

Part 2

Building a Diet High in Resistant Starch

1

Talk to your doctor or registered dietitian. Whenever you're making changes to your diet, it's a good idea to make sure that your dietary changes are safe and appropriate for you.

Talking to your doctor about adding in more resistant starch is a good idea. This is especially true if you're trying to better manage your diabetes or weight.

Increasing the amount of resistant starch may change your blood sugar levels and the amount of medication you need to manage them.

It may also be a good idea to speak to a registered dietitian. These nutrition professionals can help you design a meal plan featuring higher amounts of resistant starch foods, give you recipe ideas and help you manage your blood sugars with your diet.

2

Write up a meal plan. Whenever you're trying to make changes or additions to your typical eating pattern, it'll be helpful to write up a meal plan to help keep you on track.

A meal plan is just a rough draft of all the meals and snacks that you're planning on preparing and eating throughout the week. It's somewhat like a blueprint of your meals.[11]

Write up all the meals for a week - include breakfast, lunch, dinner and any snacks. Look for ways that you can incorporate a serving of resistant starch a few times a day.

For example, if you typically have yogurt for breakfast or an afternoon snack, top it with a slightly green banana. Or if you have a salad with dinner, sprinkle on a few beans for an extra hit of resistant starch.

Use your meal plan to make up a corresponding grocery list. This can help you save money and stay on track while you shop.[12]

3

Stock your refrigerator and pantry. If you're really interested in bulking up how much resistant starch you eat on a regular basis, it'll be a good idea to get your home stocked with foods that are high in resistant starch.

Use your meal plan and grocery list to help stock your freezer, refrigerator and pantry with items that you can use to make meals that are higher in resistant starch.

Start a food journal. When you're trying to change your diet, keeping a food journal can help you see if you've been able to make your desired changes.[13]

Purchase a food journal or download a food journaling app on your computer or smart phone. Start tracking all meals and snacks that you eat throughout the day.

Since most apps or programs do not count resistant starch in their nutrient tallies, you'll need to do this manually yourself. Overall, it's suggested to aim for about 15-20 g of resistant starch daily.[14]

Tally up how much resistant starch you eat at the end of each meal and snack. By the end of the day. Keep track over the week to see how consistent you've been.

Use this information to see if you need to add more foods with resistant starches to your diet, come up with more recipes or be more consistent with your eating plan.

Part 3

Using Resistant Starch to Improve Health

1

Manage your weight with a high resistant starch diet. One benefit associated with resistant starch is decreased hunger, appetite and better control of weight.[15]

To increase weight loss while on your resistant starch diet, consider cutting your calories by about 500 daily. This will help you lose about 1-2 pounds per week.[16]

However, unlike other low calorie diets, a higher level of resistant starch can help you stay satisfied much longer due to their digestion times.

Resistant starch acts like prebiotics in your GI system. They serve as a great food source for the healthy microbes that live in your colon. These gut microbes can help prevent constipation and colon cancer.[18]

In addition to adding resistant starch to your diet, you can also improve the health of your gut by adding in probiotics. In combination with resistant starch, you can make a big difference in the overall health of your GI system.

You can take probiotics in pill or capsule form in addition to adding foods that are high in probiotics. Choose foods like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi or tempeh.[19]

3

Improve your blood sugar levels. Lastly, resistant starch is a great additive to your diet if you have diabetes and want to improve blood sugar levels and your blood sugar control.[20]

Since resistant starch is resistant to digestion, it does not raise or spike blood sugar levels. In addition, studies have shown that resistant starch can improve insulin resistance.[21]

Spread out foods higher in carbohydrates, especially those with resistant starch, throughout the day. This helps your body better regular blood sugar and helps avoid any spikes in sugar.[22]

Exercise regularly in addition to adding more resistant starch to your diet. Both aerobic exercise and strength training can help your body better manage blood sugar and insulin levels.[23]

For people with diabetes, foods with resistant starches need to be eaten in moderation. The appropriate serving size per meal is about half a cup. Total carbohydrates should not exceed 45 g per meal for most people with diabetes.

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Community Q&A

Tips

Although resistant starch has many health benefits, do not forget about your total caloric intake. Even if you're eating foods that are high in resistant starch, eating too much will cause you to gain weight.

Eating more resistant starch is not a magic bullet to weight loss, gut health or diabetes control. You'll still need to follow your physicians advice and any other diet guidelines.